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Top Alternatives To Trick-Or-Treating In Your Neighborhood In Connecticut

October 19, 2012 6:00 AM

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Halloween is an exciting time for devilish delight in Connecticut. While there are still those who fancy old-fashioned, door-to-door trick-or-treating, in many neighborhoods it just isn’t feasible any more. Fortunately, there are still plenty of options for your kids to get their ghoulish groove on and stay safe.

The Annual Halloween Pumpkin Festival and Parade
Century 21 Heritage Company
1 Main St.
Chester, CT 06412
(860) 526-2667www.visit-chester.com

Date: October 26

The 13th Annual Halloween Pumpkin Festival and Parade in Chester will be taking place on Friday, October 26. This event features a costumed parade complete with treats handed out by the merchants along the parade’s route and a judged carved pumpkin display (bring one along). The evening continues with a costume contest (child and adult), music to dance to provided by a local DJ and so much more. Don’t miss the chance to take a Halloween hayride through the historic Laurel Hill Cemetery. It is a spirited celebration that will be fun for the whole family.

If it just doesn’t feel like Halloween without dressing up and making the rounds while repeating the obligatory trick-or-treat at every stop, the people at Olde Mistick Village in Mystic understand. In spite of the many celebrations over the weekend, you can’t let October 31 come and go without rising to the call from your childhood to see your own kids score a bag full of candy. Each year on Halloween, Old Mistick Village is ready for all the ghosts, ghouls and goblins who come its way between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. There’s plenty of territory to cover and a safe and welcoming environment to escort your kids through with time to spare so it won’t be a late school night. Happy haunting!

Every weekend in October provides another opportunity to bask in the glory of Halloween at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. Children can safely trick-or-treat at the merchant booths, enter the themed costume contest (theme varies by weekend, please check ahead) or join the Parade of the Dead along with the Faire’s resident ghouls, ghosts and vampires. Zombies will be everywhere, willing to pose for a picture and eventually joining forces for an original tribute performance to “Thriller.” Top off the night with the Joust of the Dead, an event in itself which will leave you wanting more.

Put a different spin on your Halloween weekend and pay a visit to the little-known but much acclaimed Witch’s Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in Bristol. Open to the public for just a short time each year for the last 46 years, ’tis the season to soak up the genre in all of its glory at this one-of-a-kind tribute to classic horror. Introduce your children to the magic created by such timeless artists as Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi. Take the short tour guided by recordings made by some of the stars themselves and enjoy the collection of original movie props. Weather permitting, there are viewings of silent horror classics for those outside waiting in line.

For some in-your-face frivolous fun, consider taking in a movie at the IMAX Theater in Norwalk this Halloween weekend. Depending on your childrens’ ages, there is a movie that will appropriately entertain them. Choose from either of two Gene Wilder classics “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (rated G) or the more grown-up “Young Frankenstein” (rated PG). If you have older kids who aren’t faint of heart, there are two showings of the cult favorite “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (rated R) which both start before midnight. Seeing any of these on the six-story IMAX screen can only be classified as a treat, even if the plots are full of tricks.